The City that Never Sleeps
by fight4foo
Summary: [AU] sasunaru, Sasuke is the top detective in a New York precinct who never really gave a damn about anyone. But things are changing, starting with the coming of a thief, a young man, a beam of sunshine like he'd never seen before.
1. Prolouge

Wah! I'm so proud! I finally started on a chapter fic! The first one ever. The idea came in a particularly dull orchestra rehearsal thinking about how many AU fics follow like the same plot. So, here goes with this sucker!

**The City that Never Sleeps**  
Raiting: PG-13  
Pairing: Sasunaru, but more will come as I get to them.  
Summary: AU sasunaru, Sasuke is the top detective in a New York precinct who never really gave a damn about anyone. But things are changing, starting with the coming of a thief, a young man, a beam of sunshine like he'd never seen before.  
Notes: This is only the prologue, actual chapters will be longer. Cookies to however can realize what manga setting originally inspired this. Thank you to felkwafi, my lovely beta! Damn potatoes.

* * *

The imagery that first comes to mind every time I see him is sunshine. Odd, isn't it? I know, because I distinctly remember getting so much rain that day that the old record was broken. The way his hair shone with the light of a million golden stars and his face lit up with a smile, couldn't help but to remind you of sunlight. His coming cast light into my dark existence, making me feel as if there was a way out, into a world as bright as him. Just one look had me wishing never to leave his side again. 

The next thing that comes to mind, is an endless wash of cloudless sky. This doesn't make much sense either since it was raining, but one look into those blue eyes and anyone would agree with me. They were so deep that you could fall in and never resurface, but at the same time they were a fascinating kaleidoscope that revealed his every emotion. Especially (and this is my favorite part) when he laughed or smiled, they would light up like the subtle sparkle of a pond beneath golden warmth. It didn't really matter where I met him or why. I can't even recall that now. 'My entire being was focused on this entity, my sunshine.

* * *

New York City had many nicknames, some of them praising, some of them less so. However, the one that Sasuke felt most appropriate at the moment was 'the city that never sleeps'. He sat in his office nursing a mug of coffee so large that even the biggest addict might think twice about touching it. It was two in the morning and he and his partner- Sakura- sat looking over, for what felt like the **millionth** time, the gory details of their newest case. 

"I don't get it," Sakura whined, taking a sip from her own cup of coffee, "Why would anyone target only young boys. I mean if money's the drive, what is there to be gained from this lot?"

Sasuke growled at his unobservant partner. For a moment he sat still, only his eye twitching as he tried to calm down (which he failed miserably at). "How can you not see it? They were all male prostitutes, probably owned by the same outfit. Obviously someone needed to get rid of them."

She sat silently for a moment after her partner's outburst. He was usually so quiet that this was highly out of character for him; something about the case had to be bothering him. She picked up the photos, four each of the three dead boys. "So, if you are saying that they are all connected like that, then who do you think is behind it…?"

He froze in the midst of bringing the mug to his lips. He looked like a deer in the headlights, his eyes wide and unfocused. After a moment he moved and lowered the coffee cup, his eyes narrowing. "How would l know?" he asked, his voiced eerily calm.

"N-no reason," Sakura stammered, "You were just a lot further ahead than me and I wondered if you'd figured it out."

Sasuke sighed and looked away, the previous suspicion that he had worn on his face was back to its usual impassiveness. "No, there haven't really been any clues as to who it is. If we don't hurry up and close this case, then they are thinking of pulling in someone from the FBI. The weapons we found with the bodies appear to be stolen, which worries them."

Sakura stood up from her side of the desk and walked over behind Sasuke, who remained still. Tentatively she rested her hands on his neck and began to massage slowly. "Sasuke, you've seemed so tense lately. What's the matter?"

He abruptly stood up, knocking her hands away. "I would appreciate it if you kept your hands off of me," he said calmly to a hurt looking Sakura. "It's been a long night and we aren't getting anywhere. I suggest that we leave for now. We're on second shift tomorrow."

Sakura backed up, still looking hurt, but had been with her partner long enough to know when not to argue. She grabbed her coat and after whispering good-bye, left the office.

After she was gone Sasuke sighed and put his feet up on the desk. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache. Too many nights had been spent like this one- staying up till all hours, trying to guess where this killer would strike next and in the end accomplishing nothing. This case was starting to get to him. It was the most gruesome they had dealt with yet. Three boys, male prostitutes, as tests and background checks showed, had been killed in the last month alone. All were killed in a similar fashion, stabbed brutally in the chest. That, however, wasn't the worst part. All of them had been found scalped, the tops of their heads completely shaven off leaving a bloody and gory mess. The public was scared, too afraid to let their children leave the house alone. Sasuke and Sakura had been getting increasing pressure from the Chief to hurry up and catch the culprit, but it would probably take another killing for enough clues to show up for them to even have a guess at who it was.

Another important fact, something that many of Sasuke's peers had forgotten, was that all of the boys were so shot up with drugs there was no way they had been conscious before being killed. Something was constantly niggling at the back of Sasuke's mind, pulling him back to this fact. The type of drug found on the young males was cocaine. In the area only two groups held control over the drug business, both overseen by the mafia. It worried Sasuke that this case might be part of an even larger operation, which would greatly complicate matters. He had always avoided any cases dealing with the mafia, preferring to regulate the smaller drug lords.

With a sigh Sasuke pushed away from the desk and got up to retrieve his jacket. Sitting here looking at the same facts over and over again wasn't getting him anywhere. He left the silent building, not bothering to tie his coat closed, even though the cold was biting. For a second he stopped, just outside the building. Looking at the dark and heavy clouds he commented idly, "Looks like it's going to rain."

* * *

Sasuke cursed as he practically flung himself from the bed and into the bathroom. What a crappy way to start his day. First his alarm clock hadn't gone off, making him thirty minutes late. Secondly, last night, when he'd gotten home, he collapsed on the bed, still fully clothed. A small part of him wished to take off the day, but Sasuke knew there was no way the Chief would allow it. Hopping around in an attempt to pull off his sock, he grabbed a new pair of jeans and then rushed into the shower. Five minutes later he jumped back out, sputtering and cursing at the lack of hot water. After ten seconds chugging down the leftover dregs of last night's coffee, he rushed out the door, inwardly cussing out whatever god chose to make his life shit today. It was pouring rain. 

His earlier luck seemed to stay with him on his way to work. He _only_ ran into two construction zones, three traffic jams, hit eight red lights and gotten the finger too many times to count. Outwardly Sasuke appeared to be taking this very well, never once losing his temper, but inside he was a seething mass of anger that anyone dare make him any later than he already was.

Finally, he made it to work…an hour late. Sasuke muttered under his breath as he walked into the office, completely ignoring the secretary, Ino, as she wished him good morning. At his desk he dared take a breath, only to hear his name ring through the PA system. Apparently the Chief was not very happy and "wanted his sorry ass" in his office "faster than you could say 'oh shit'."

With the stoic expression he always wore, Sasuke approached the Chiefs office, Sakura following slightly behind since she had been called too (not nearly in the same way he had been though). They were greeted with a roar as the Chief jumped out from behind the door, slamming it shut as they walked through. He was a big man, over six-feet tall for sure and his hair long gone white with age. It wasn't often you saw a police officer as old as him, most had retired or died, but apparently, in his time, he had been one of the best on the force. No one was really sure what the Chief's name really was, something to do with a shady past. Some would call him "Jiraiya", but even that was thought to be a nickname. Despite being overly energized and at times (well, most of the time) perverted, he was a good leader and many of the cops looked up to him almost as a father. However, it was well known throughout the precinct of how badly Sasuke and the Chief got along. Their personalities clashed in every way. It was certain that Sasuke would have been fired long ago if he wasn't their top detective.

"So, Sasuke, thought you would sleep in today? Or were you trying to get fired on purpose?" Jiraiya asked quietly, taking apparent glee in getting to say this to the young man in front of him.

Sasuke didn't even dignify the question with an answer. Sakura coughed nervously from behind her partner as the two attempted to glare each other to death. "Eh, Chief, was there a reason that you called us both here?"

Both jumped back slightly, having forgotten that Sakura was there. "Well yes," Jiraiya said as he stepped back, straightening his suit and becoming serious in an instant, "there was, actually. You are both aware of the importance of the case you are currently working on," he paused for a second waiting for them to both nod, "that, coupled with the stolen weapons found at the bodies, has attracted the attention of the FBI. They have sent someone out to assist-"

"We can handle the case on our own. That will not be necessary," Sasuke cut in.

"I'm sure you can," Jiraiya said witheringly, causing Sasuke to grit his teeth in anger, "but, in the interest of getting this damn thing closed quickly, I suggest you cooperate with whoever they send. If not, don't think anything will save your ass from being kicked out on the street."

As Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, Sakura covered it, grabbing his shirt to pull him out of the office. "Thank you, Chief. When will he be coming?"

Jiraiya turned around, waving a hand dismissively. "Sometime, today I guess. All they said was that you'll know him when you see him."

As soon as they were safely back in their office, Sakura removed her hand from Sasuke's mouth, lingering there a little longer than necessary. "Sasuke, I really don't think it's a good idea to argue-"

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered. After the shit morning he'd had so far all he really wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep, maybe with an aspirin for his killer headache.

"Sorry," Sakura said dejectedly and bent over a file folder she was looking at.

For a few minutes Sasuke sat there with his eyes closed, silently reminding himself why he got out of bed that morning. No real good answer came to mind.

"Sasuke, I think you should look at this. Maybe these two cases are related." Sakura leant over their desks to show him a folder she had been reading. Sasuke swore later that time slowed down as he saw the corner of the file folder nudge his new cup of coffee (yes, he was addicted) off the table, straight towards a pile of important papers on his desk and his lap. Time caught up to itself, however, as the burning liquid splashed all over his pants front. Honestly, what did he do to deserve such incompetent co-workers?

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…" Sakura spluttered as she leant over and began to dab furiously at the papers, only making them smear worse. "I'll help you get it off!" she cried frantically, reaching out to wipe at his pants.

"Get away! Stop touching there!" Sasuke shouted, trying to get away from her. As he stumbled towards the door, something collided with him, both of them falling back onto the ground. Sasuke opened his mouth to shout at the idiot who'd run into him, but his voice got caught in the back of his throat. There was sunlight sitting in his lap.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Please review! 


	2. Another Killing

Rating: Still wandering through the land of PG-13  
Pairings: Sasunaru and more to come.  
Genre: Drama and romance, with some humor for spice.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
Warnings Nothing really, a little gore and a little shounnen-ai.  
Summary:This is the second chapter in the City that Never Sleeps. The first one can be found here http/ Thank you again felkwafi! I owe you so much!

* * *

For a moment Sasuke just sat there, spluttering. Whatever had hit him sat back, rubbing its golden hair. Sakura just stared at the two from the other side of the desks. Time seemed to stand still as they all looked at each other, until Sasuke finally caught up with himself. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he raged at the person sitting before him, his bad mood finally exploding. The victim of his attack still sat on the floor, massaging his head. He appeared to be a boy of only about seventeen, dressed in ratty clothes and wearing an orange jacket that had certainly seen better days. None of this distinguished the boy as much as his hair and eyes. The hair was a bright golden color, glinting in the light whenever he turned his head. The glow around his face from the reflected light made him look like some sort of other-worldly angel. But this paled in comparison to his eyes. They sat in a face marked with whisker-like scratches and no really outstanding features. The eyes were intelligent, a shining blue rarely seen. They laughed and shouted with joy, as their owner did. Sasuke had never seen such a person before.

"Sorry, I was just on my way through here, didn't see you there…" he laughed, standing up, all the while looking around him for something, "I was just leaving-"

"No, you were not! I didn't tell you to leave! Get back here this instant, Naruto!" cried out Neji, as he rounded the corner. Before Sasuke had come Neji had been the top detective, thus they never got along (few people did with Sasuke). It was odd for him to be so loud, but his red face and messed up hair said that he must have spent a fair amount of time chasing this boy.

"I already told you, freaky-eyes, I didn't see nothing!" the boy, Naruto, shouted at the detective. He looked about ready to bolt, but Sasuke grabbed onto his jacket, preventing him from leaving.

Sasuke growled, "I'm not through with you either."

"Let go of my witness, Sasuke," Neji hissed, pulling Naruto towards him.

"Dammit! Does anyone fucking listen! I saw nothing; I know nothing; I'm leaving!" Naruto shouted, pissed with being pulled around like a rag doll.

"Sasuke, I think you should just let Neji have him back…" Sakura pulled at her partner, but no one took notice of her.

"You're not going anywhere until I finish my interview. Even then you can't go until the guys in juvie release you," Neji put first a final burst of energy and pulled Naruto away from Sasuke, making to leave. Sasuke, however, stepped in front of the two, barring their leaving. "Get out of my way, Sasuke."

"I get to tell him off first! After all he did knock me to the ground. Then you can continue your questioning," Sasuke growled, pulling Naruto back and making to punch the boy. From the side Sakura tried in vain to stop him. It was seldom that Sasuke lost his temper, but when he did the results weren't pretty.

"You can't do-" Neji started, but was cut off by a telephone ringing. Sakura strode over to answer it, not trusting Sasuke to talk civilly to anyone at the moment.

"Hello…no, another one! Yes…yes…we'll be right over. Thank you," she looked grim as she hung up the phone and turned to her colleagues. "They've found another body. It's over in the Bronx. This boy has actually been IDed. His name is Kimimaro and he was only fifteen. I suggest we get going."

Naruto stopped struggling against Neji and stood there, dumbstruck. "Kimimaro? They got Kimimaro?"

Sasuke looked over at him, "Why, you know this kid?"

"Well yeah, I was kinda friends with him for a while now," Naruto played with the zipper on his jacket, not looking at anyone and mumbling. "Do you… do you think I could come along? I mean we were pretty close and all. Not to mention he was my room mate…"

For a moment Sasuke stood there, torn between allowing this pesky little kid along with him and the need for a person with possible information. "Alright, idiot, get moving and don't talk," he finally ground out.

Soberly Naruto began to walk from the office. Sakura watched in concern as the youth trudged down the hall towards the exit. It looked out of place almost for him to be frowning, as though he never did it. Neji stepped forward from where he'd been watching by the door. "You can't run off with him like this. It's not within your authority," he said, sounding annoyed with the whole ordeal.

Sasuke stood there, still watching Naruto through the glass that encompassed his room. "Fine," he called out, "Neji's taking you, Naruto." He grabbed his jacket and left the office before the flustered detective could object. Sakura whispered a hurried apology and followed. Neji stood there, twitching in rage at how the younger detective calmly ordered him. After counting to ten slowly he pulled his keys out of his pocket and followed, still very unhappy.

The whole car ride to the crime scene passed in silence. The remnants of Sasuke's bad mood still lingered and Sakura thought it wise not to provoke him in any way. She was unsure of whether she wanted to see this body. They had been getting gorier with each passing crime. The last one had already been partially decayed by the time they found it; that scene was one she wouldn't forget for a long time. Sakura sat there predicting what kind of gruesome scene they would encounter as Sasuke drove.

Sasuke watched the street signs fly by, barely seeing their name as he was going so fast. They had left their part of town and had entered a dirty, messy alley. The buildings here were decrepit, sagging with age. Not a sound was to be heard away from the main street, not even children outside playing. The torrents of rain still gushing down added to the gloom hanging over their heads. It was obvious when they had reached the crime scene, cop cars lined the street around possibly the worst building Sasuke had ever seen. In front a yard full of weeds was surrounded by a half eaten fence. The paint was peeling from the door and dirt had marred the original color of the walls.

The appearance of the house was nothing to the man standing outside it. Sakura gasped as he turned to face them and Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. The bottom part of his face was covered with a mask and his left eye was covered with a patch.

"You're late," was all he said to them before turning back around.

Sasuke leaned back on the rickety fence and said nothing, preferring to ignore the man's statement. Sakura, on the other hand looked back at the other man and tapped his shoulder softly. "Excuse me, but what do you mean we're late? We came the second we were notified about this."

He turned back around to look at them lazily. "I heard about this three hours ago from the FBI and I've been waiting here fifteen minutes for you. You're late."

At hearing this Sasuke stepped forward, some of his previous anger resurfacing. "I told them we don't need any help, much less from some incompetent idiot like you.'

In a flash, so quick no one saw what had happened the man had Sasuke pinned to the ground with one arm while he started pulling a book out with the other. "Sorry, I'm only incompetent on days off."

"Bastard, let me go!" Sasuke yelled as he struggled to break free of his grasp.

"Sir…" Sakura stood nervously on the side, unsure of what to do, but knowing that a Sasuke-explosion was only moments off.

"Whatever," the man said, standing up and flipping through the book to his page.

Sasuke stood up massaging his neck and his face contorted with anger. "What the hell was that?" he questioned angrily, but received no reply as the man appeared to be totally engrossed in his book. Sakura flinched as she saw the title of the book. "Make Out Violence" shone in bright colors on the cover. 'Great,' she thought, 'they got a porn addict to help us.'

"At least, what is your name?" Sakura asked softly.

"Kakashi Hatake"

"Why you-" Sasuke started in anger, but was stopped by the arrival of Neji and Naruto. Naruto slowly walked forward, not willing to look up from the ground. Something very small pulled at his heart strings form seeing such a normally energetic boy so down in the dumps. Sasuke quickly ignored this and started berating Neji. "Took you long enough. We need to get going on the investigation. Stay out here with the boy."

Naruto didn't hear that he was supposed to put as he was already walking in the front door to the house. Sasuke and Neji both began to chase after him, neither too happy that they seemed to agree on something. By the time they caught up Naruto was already staring down at the mangled corpse of his roommate.

Sakura, who was chasing after them as best she could, gasped and covered her mouth at the gruesome sight. This boy, same as the others, was stabbed in the chest viciously. Blood splattered the wall behind him and dripped to the floor from his wound. The most disgusting part was his head. The murderer had none too carefully carved off the boy's hair. The blood oozed from the vicious cutting. The stench that arose from the body that was already decomposing was nauseating. One of the police officers present at the scene covered their mouth with a hand and ran from the room. It took Sakura all of her self control not to follow after them.

Naruto stood there, eyes wide with shock, but not a single tear leaked out of them. Neji stepped forward and attempted to pull him from the room, but he resisted it.

"This must have happened a while ago. The body's starting to decompose," Kakashi commented idly from the doorway.

Sasuke wiped his mouth and turned to Naruto. "Brat, how long is it since you've been here?'

"About a week. I've been really busy with work and staying at a friend's house by it," Naruto answered in a hoarse voice.

Nodding, Sasuke looked back to the body. "Sakura," he commanded, "take the kid back to the precinct. He didn't need to come see this."

"Wait!" Naruto called out, "I can help, I know some about what Kimimaro did and someone who can tell us more about it."

Sasuke turned to look him in the face. His face was sincere, showing his desire to help in any way to avenge his friend. "Fine, speak."

Naruto chewed his lip, thoughtfully, before starting to talk. "Well…I don't actually know a lot about his job. He let slip once that he was a host, and then I found out from some other kids that the man he worked fired him about a month ago. That's all I've heard."

"Do you think his employer killed him?" Sasuke asked, turning to Kakashi. He was testing the other man's skills, wanting to see if they'd both reached the same conclusion.

"No," Kakashi stated simply. Sakura quirked an eyebrow at him, not understanding his reasoning, "It was probably someone else hired by the employer. They wouldn't want to risk themselves for this kind of thing. I'm guessing it was some kind of independent killer that they got to do the job," he elaborated.

Sasuke nodded, "I'd figured so much. That means that this person has been hired to do all these killings, probably by that same employer. Pretty sloppy, if you ask me," he snorted, "I would have gotten a different person each time, less chance of being traced."

"Sloppy, or confident that they won't be caught," Neji commented from where he was standing just outside the room.

Naruto nodded slightly in agreement before continuing to talk. "Yeah, he never told me their name though. But, I know someone who might be able to tell us who the killer is. His name's Ebisu. He's pretty well known on the streets."

Kakashi nodded slightly at this. "I've heard of him. He's been on the FBI's wanted list for years. Drug dealing, smuggling weapons, what have you."

"Erm," Naruto shifted nervously.

"No worries," Kakashi held up a hand, "I won't arrest him or tell them his whereabouts. It's not my case, not my job."

"And I've never heard of the guy, so we won't," Sasuke added. "Sakura," he said, turning around to address her, "make sure the body gets back to the lab for an autopsy; just stay here. Neji-" he growled.

"I'm coming with you," Neji cut in, "I'm not through with him and he's wanted by the guys in juvie."

"Whatever. Let's get going. I don't wanna be stuck at work late again," Sasuke called back as he began heading towards the cars. Kakashi strayed away from the cops to his own car where he sat reading while waiting for the others.

For a moment the three of them paused in front of the two cop cars. "Looks like we'll have to all get in one car to leave Sakura one," Neji observed, "Why don't we take-"

"Mine," Sasuke interjected. He stood there sizing the two of them up, trying to determine the lesser of two evils. "Alright, Naruto get in the front. Neji get in the back next to the empty body bag."

"Asshole," Neji growled, but none the less doing as told. He wanted to just get home too.

Sasuke drove as Naruto told him directions to where Ebisu would most likely be found. That was the only sound, as neither Neji nor Sasuke were very talkative and Naruto was still depressed. They left the slummy district they had been in for one, if possibly, worse. Rats were running across the street and almost all of the apartments were crammed close together and falling apart. Finally Naruto gave him a signal to stop in front of one of the better looking apartment buildings.

The group stood on the curb, waiting for the FBI agent to appear. After twenty minutes Neji was ranting that they should just hurry up and meet this "informant", but Sasuke completely disagreed with him (even though inside he thought it had been the best idea so far). Naruto just stood there, ignoring the argument and kicking a rock softly with his foot. Finally after over half an hour of standing the sleek black car Kakashi had driven off in originally pulled up just in front of them.

"Yo," he said lazily, climbing out of the car carrying…a bag of Chinese food.

"You stopped, for food," Sasuke ground out, his eyebrow twitching in anger for third time that day.

Kakashi looked at the food and then looked back at the three other men. "So it would seem."

"We have an investigation to do! We don't have _time_ for you to go wandering around on your own getting _food_," raged Sasuke. Neji, for the first time ever, nodded in agreement.

"No worries, no worries," Kakashi said, holding his hands up in defense, "I got enough for all of this," his face grew dark and his joking manner was dropped, "I have a feeling this might take a while."

"Fine, now move. I would prefer eating in my own house, in my own kitchen," the three followed after the self-appointed leader as they entered the building.

Naruto acted as a navigator again, directing them down long twisting hallways that he apparently knew well. As they walked his mood seemed to improve. He no longer looked constantly at the ground and grew steadily more talkative. On some instinctual level Sasuke was glad that the boy had some of his spunk back (he just seemed too out of character depressed), but his annoyance won over this easily.

"Shut it," Sasuke growled, "Next word from you and we might have a some police brutality on our hands."

Naruto grew quiet real fast, having no doubts about whether Sasuke would follow through on this- he had seen the man rage all afternoon. They descended another floor until reaching a basement faced with only one door. Naruto stepped forward to rap three times on it, calling out softly, "Ebisu, it's me, Naruto."

"Naruto? What brings you here?" a voice whispered out from behind the door.

"Heh, as if you didn't already know, pervert," Naruto replied chuckling. The other three men stood in silence, not really sure what was happening.

"I won't let you in if you keep calling me that."

Naruto sighed, stepping back from the door a bit, "Alright, it's really important this time."

"I know," the voice hissed back. The door swung open to a dark room, lit only by a single lamp. Newspapers littered the floor and the rest wasn't much cleaner. An unmade bed lay in one corner, next to a pool table that had definitely seen better days. The one area of the room that seemed well kept and clean was the desk. Files lay in neat stacks on the surface and the drawers were all labeled.

Naruto surveyed this, before turning to the men standing behind him in the hallway. "Come on in you guys. This room is just for appearances, there are better places in the back."

"Don't tell them all my secrets," said a man standing in the middle of the room. He appeared in his mid-thirties, not much older than Kakashi. On his head he wore a cloth and his face was concealed by glasses. "So you can't see my real face," he said at Neji's inquiring gaze.

The group was lead down a series of dark halls before the corridor opened up into a spacious sitting room. Posh furniture was placed around the room, whose walls were lined with expensive-looking paintings. Scantily-clad women lounged on the sofas, some of them fawning over a man.

"Welcome to my home," Ebisu said simply, beckoning a waiter to bring them drinks.

Naruto picked up a cloth draped on the back of a sofa, feeling it between his fingers. "This is new, Ebisu. You never had the women here before," Naruto commented, raising an eyebrow at the other man.

"I have guests here that want them," he replied, shrugging.

Naruto grinned largely and jeered back to him, "Yeah right, old man. You just wanted some 'companionship' for yourself, you closet pervert."

Ebisu reddened slightly at the ears, "Don't think I won't follow through on throwing you out if you don't shut up, brat"

"Yes, we have important business here. So shut up, Naruto," Sasuke said, his eyes still narrowed and surveying the room.

"Ah, yes, Police Officer, if you want to begin asking whatever you need to. I'll answer when I can."

"How can you be so calm?" Neji questioned, still wary about his surroundings. "You have two detectives and a member of the FBI- all armed- inside your house."

"You guys won't try anything," Ebisu answered lazily while taking a beer from the waiter, "You're outnumbered four to one." Sure enough, on closer inspection every man in the room was armed to the teeth. "So, are you just going to sit here and admire my room, or did you come for something else."

Kakashi closed the book he had still been reading and put it away in his jacket pocket. He straightened up and coughed before assuming a very business-like attitude, "Naruto directed us to you, saying we could possibly find out some information about the murderer who's been killing the boys lately. As an ex-hit-man yourself I'm sure you can."

Ebisu didn't even flinch upon hearing that Kakashi knew of his previous occupation. On the streets it was well known that he was an assassin turned informant that worked for nobody's side, but told them all what he thought they needed to know, which he was handsomely rewarded for. "I know some about it, but don't think it will be free. What do I get in exchange?"

"We won't tell anyone where your hideout is," Sasuke stated simply.

For a moment the other man considered it before nodding, "Fair enough, it's always good to have connections in the force," he stopped talking to think some more," But I want that book too," he said, pointing towards Kakashi's pocket where the porn book was hidden. "I have…a friend who likes that series."

"Pervert," Naruto exclaimed, grinning.

Kakashi appeared mortified, pulling out the booking and hugging it tightly to his chest. "No way-" but he was cut off by Sasuke grabbing it from him in a burst of speed.

"Done, now talk."

"Fine, I'll tell you as much as you need to know," Ebisu started, steepling his fingers in front of his face, "The assassin you are looking for goes by the name of Zabuza, demon of the mist. A few years ago his lover, a young man by the name of Haku-"

"Ew, he was with another guy?" Naruto interrupted.

"Quiet, idiot," Sasuke grunted.

"As I was saying," Ebisu began again, "His lover was killed by the head of the prostitution ring he worked for. Zabuza went insane, furious about the boy's death. He is now only a killing machine, ironically for the same man that had Haku killed- Zabuza didn't know who it was in the first place. His M.O. usually involves scalping the victim. It's said that Haku had gorgeous long hair, I guess he's resentful of everyone else's hair or something. This is all only what I've heard though."

"M.O.?" Naruto questioned, looking at Sasuke to explain.

"Modus Operandi, means mode of operating, the normal way in which he kills someone," Sasuke rattled off the dictionary definition without thinking about it. He smirked at Ebisu, "Know a lot of cops."

"More than you probably do," Ebisu shot back.

Kakashi spoke up, "What was the name of the employer, the one who hired Zabuza?"

"That, I can't tell you."

Naruto jumped forward, "Wha! Why not!"

Ebisu adjusted the glasses on his face before turning up to them, "Because there are those who pay me more than you. I think you're done here."

Two men stepped forward from behind them and began pulling the quartet out of their chairs. "Wait, one more thing," Sasuke called back as they were being led away, "where do we find this Zabuza guy."

"I can't tell you that either," Ebisu sighed, "But, I think you'll be able to figure it out on your own."

They were escorted down another set of winding passages and out of the building. Outside it was getting dark with only a few clouds dotting the sky after the rain that morning. The four of them sat on a bench, silent as they ate the food Kakashi had picked up earlier. After they had all eaten they continued to sit there, still mulling over what they had heard (or sulking if you were Kakashi- he wanted his book back).

"Are you guys done? I need to finish my investigation and I don't where my partner's gotten to," Neji said quietly, somewhat afraid to disturb the dark mood that had settled over them. Sure they now had a lead on who was the killer, but were no closer to catching him until they could find the guy.

Sasuke flipped a fork lazily around his fingers, "Fine."

All of them stood up, agreeing to meet back in the precinct. Naruto and Neji climbed into Sasuke's car. Naruto stared silently at the passing street signs, apparently thinking over something, but neither of the other men were about to ask him what was wrong.

Back at the precinct Neji stole Naruto away for half an hour to finish his interview and set him straight with the cops after him for shoplifting. Sasuke and Kakashi told Sakura what Ebisu had told them (with the exception of the man's previous occupation- Sakura would have probably told the Chief they had been meeting with a murder and then not arresting him).

"So basically we still can't make a move," Sakura said slowly, having listened to all of their details.

"No, not until we get a lead on this guy," Sasuke replied.

Kakashi started out, "Maybe you guys should go talk to your chief, see if he's ever heard of the guy before…"

Sasuke turned to glare at the other and Sakura looked nervously at the two of them, afraid of another Sasuke-explosion coming. "Well you know, I still have to talk with him about some other stuff and maybe…"

"Yes, you go, Sakura."

"I'll start looking through the database for the guy and Sasuke-" Kakashi was cut off by the door opening, in it stood Jiraiya, Neji, and Naruto. Jiraiya seemed very happy to be there (Sasuke suspected this had something to do with the prospect of torturing him) while Neji looked very angry and Naruto still stood with his eyes trained on the floor.

"Hello Sakura," Jiraiya boomed, completely ignoring Sasuke, "I brought these two over because you might be able to help!"

"Oh," she replied, mildly surprised.

"Yes," he said, instantly dropping the happy yelling and growing more serious, "As you know, Naruto's home is being investigated and he has nowhere else to go."

Something about that sat wrong with Sasuke. The boy had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. _So similar…_

"And Neji here can't take him in because he still lives at home."

At this Sasuke turned to his nemesis and smirked while Neji looked away. "I was wondering if you could take him in for the night, you know, be his mother for the time being since you know him already."

Sakura was about to reply but she was cut off by Kakashi. "I don't think he should stay with a GIRL. He is a teenager after all." Naruto looked up to glare at him.

"He should stay with me then," Kakashi said lazily, not really looking at anyone else.

"No way man!" Naruto shouted and jumped behind Jiraiya, "I'll catch your perviness or get molested or something if I spend the night anywhere near you!"

Everybody in the room turned to look expectantly at Sasuke, who continued reading the report he held for a while before realizing who they were all staring at.

"What! Wait…you want me to take in that brat. Nothing doing," he crossed his arms over his chest childishly, but not caring since he just wanted to get home.

"What do you mean? You're single and living alone, it's only for one night," Jiraiya said, happy that his enemy would have the problem on his hands.

"I don't see _you_ offering him a home," Sasuke accused, pointing at the Chief.

Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly, "I have a wife and kids. We don't need another one. You're taking him and that's an order." He stomped out of the room, closely followed by Neji, Kakashi, and Sakura who didn't want to be around for the shouting that would inevitably follow.

Sasuke stood, glaring at the door for sever minutes before turning his attention to Naruto. The boy stood there and for the first time since they'd meet he seemed unsure of himself.

"Um…I really don't need to stay at your place. I've been living on my own for years…" Naruto trailed off.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. It was obvious something was still bothering the kid. It wasn't that he cared but it reminded him of someone else who had been like that… "No, you'll stay. Otherwise I'll be fired."

Naruto's eyes lit up at this, "Really?"

"Yeah, whatever. Grab your stuff," Sasuke replied as he took his coat off the rack.

"I don't have anything, remember? My house is still being investigated," Naruto chirped. Whatever he said, it was obvious by his change in attitude that he hadn't really wanted to spend the night alone on the streets.

The ride home Naruto talked the entire way. He didn't really _say_ anything, it was more a way to get rid of any awkward silences. Sasuke was tempted to shut him up, but in all honesty he liked the sound of another person talking. He spent far too much time alone.

At a rather well kept up apartment they stopped. Naruto stood in awe of the building. "You live there?"

"Yes," replied Sasuke testily, "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, it's just…I've never stayed in a building this nice," Naruto said, still sounding amazed. It wasn't even that great a building.

Sasuke stared the young man in front of him. Having grown up with lots of money he'd never thought where he lived to be anything special. Now, seeing how deprived Naruto had been was somewhat surprising.

"But you know…" Naruto started, "One day I'll live in a building even bigger and better than this one."

"Grr…just get inside," Sasuke grunted, pushing Naruto forward into the entrance way.

The apartment Sasuke lead them into was somewhat large and spacious. On one side was a sofa and chairs directly across from a TV/entertainment center. Two doors next to the TV lead into a kitchen. The far wall from the door was lined with bedroom doors and lead into a hall.

Naruto steeped into the room and was there for one second before he began picking up items and examining them. "Nice place you've got here," he reiterated.

"That room there," Sasuke said, pointing to the door in front of him, "Is where you can stay. This room," he said pointing to the door right next to the one leading to Naruto's room, "is mine. Wake me up or annoy me at all and don't think I won't throw you out."

Naruto smirked up at the other man from where he was examining the TV, "Throw me out? You can't do that; your chief will fire you."

"I don't care. Now shut up and go to bed," Sasuke said, planting himself on the sofa and picking up a magazine.

"What the hell are you smoking?" Naruto shouted. "It's only eight o'clock. I can stay up way later than this."

"No you can't," Sasuke stated simply, "I don't want to see you anymore."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and stood in front of the older man defiantly, "I'm not going to."

Sasuke strode angrily across the room and attempted to hoist Naruto over his shoulder to toss into the room. However, the smaller of the two proved to be quite strong, not giving in to Sasuke's shoving.

After several minutes wrestling to get Naruto into his room (and more importantly away from Sasuke) the older man stood up and went back to the sofa. "Fine, don't go to bed. I better not hear one word from you though."

"Yeah whatever, bastard," Naruto added with a smirk that Sasuke completely ignored.

They sat on opposite sides of the couch for about half an hour. Naruto stared at the ceiling, trying to not fidget, while Sasuke read the magazine. Finally the perpetually talkative boy grew tired of the silence and attempted to start a conversation. "So what are you guys going to do about the criminal now?"

Sasuke growled from the other side of the sofa, not even looking up from the magazine he was reading. "Shut up."

"I was just trying to start a conversation," Naruto replied angrily.

For a few more minutes they sat silently. Naruto was still mad about being told to shut up, but didn't want to find out whether or not Sasuke would really throw him out. However, once again his tiny attention span caught up and he made another stab at conversation. "That's pretty bad you know. Going crazy and killing people just because your lover is murdered," he commented idly, not really thinking about what he was saying, "I know I would never do something like that. It's pretty dumb sounding."

For a moment Naruto thought that Sasuke would tell him to shut up, but the other man seemed to be considering what he said. "I would," he said shortly before turning back to his reading.

"What?" Naruto said, looking startled. He hadn't really expected a reply.

"Nothing, I told you not to talk," Sasuke grunted.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto shouted, scooting over on the sofa so he could better catch Sasuke's attention. "You said something, now explain what you meant."

"Why should I explain myself to a brat like you?" Sasuke said, looking up from the magazine to return the glare he was being sent.

"Well, if you said something, you obviously wanted me to hear it," Naruto responded.

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh, "I said I would kill in order to avenge my loved ones and I'm sure you would too."

Naruto withdrew for a second, thinking, before shouting back at Sasuke full volume, "I would not! No way would I do something that dumb. I'd move on."

"What do you know," Sasuke said angrily, but if you listened hard enough you could hear a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I know plenty," Naruto stated, leaning back to cross his arms once again, "My mom and my dad were killed when I was really little. It was hard, but I got over it."

Sasuke clenched his fists slightly, showing his frustration with the topic. "You were young so you wouldn't think to get their revenge."

"They're the only people who have ever really loved me," Naruto said, still angry, but one could tell it was becoming something of an act.

Sasuke froze at that. All his life people had been fawning over him and wanting to be around him, despite how he treated them. These people didn't really love him or care for him; all they wanted was his money or for his good looks. This boy was alike him in so many ways Sasuke wasn't sure how to deal with it. He was about to respond, but Naruto beat him to it, "I care about all of my friends, but I would never want revenge for them. I would just remember the good times with them. That's how it is with Kimimaro. Someday I'm going to become great enough to protect them all!" He ended energetically, giving Sasuke a 'thumbs up'.

Again Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond. Here was someone who had basically lost everything in one day- their home, and their friend. And yet, he was still able to talk optimistically about the future. After an initial bout of grieving that lasted about twenty minutes he was fine, almost as if he had forgotten about the incident. "Let's just watch a movie," Sasuke replied, wanting to get away from the dangerous territory.

"Alright, but just so long as you don't choose some boring, stupid one," Naruto shouted happily.

They sat and watched the movie for hours. Or, more correctly, Naruto watched it and Sasuke watched him. This young boy had experienced so much in such a short amount of time. They were more similar than either was probably willing to admit. However, there were several key differences that set them apart. Sasuke was more of a pessimist by nature, looking at the low points of life and refusing to let them go. With Naruto, nothing seemed to get him down; everything was absorbed and turned into a positive opportunity.

Eventually the movie ended and both of them were dead tired, Naruto more so than Sasuke. However, when Naruto began to lean over precariously on the brink of falling asleep, Sasuke didn't mind letting the young man use his lap as a pillow.

* * *

Thanks for reading! 

Review Responses:  
**DragonTheif:** Thank you!  
**Lady Samurai:** Yeah, Naruto made me happy too!  
**blue leafy: **Glad you liked Sasuke's characterization. I'm still working on getting him right. I do plan to have more Sakura, I don't like fics that just dismiss her either, it might just take a while because I'm still setting up my world. Thanks for the comment!  
**Felkwafi: **Hey you too! Wahooo, I love your writing too!  
**Rosemarykiss: **Happy that you liked it!  
**TenshiKaitou: **Naruto is an angel…at least to me!  
**Uzamaki Liliana:** I'm happy that you find it promising! Thank you.


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